Fresh Fruit in Primary Schools Pilot Programme

The Health Action Zone has been developing Fresh Fruit in Primary Schools over the past three years in 20 schools in North & West Belfast. The most recent aspect of the evaluation highlighted the positive impact on children, teachers, and parents and with the practical operation of the scheme. In North & West Belfast a distinct and particularly successful element has been the support of local businesses in providing fruit to schools.

The next phase of development is to examine how the pilot programme can be extended to other schools and within schools already participating in the programme. North & West schools are testing how they can participate in the programme on a self financing basis, expanding the programme using the same level of funding throughout the school, and strengthening links with other programmes.

A seminar for school principals was held 28th September and highlighted their commitment to exploring what is possible beyond the pilot phase of the programme. It is also significant that the issue of nutrition within schools has been given a recent boost with the decision by the Department of Education to extend nutrition standards across all schools in Northern Ireland over the coming three year period.

This will directly effect the quality of the food provided for children and young people attending schools in Northern Ireland, in line with the decision made in other parts of the United Kingdom. An important legacy of the pilot will be the development of a Good Practice Guide. The guide for staff in schools will use examples of best practice in the fresh fruit and other programmes at work within Health Action Zones. This is a good example of how a pilot initiative has influenced mainstream development and delivery.